Leaves of the Chinese Elm in winter: to leave or not?

[jeremy_norbury]

If you take a Chinese elm which is fully in leaf and plunge it into darkness or even deep-shade (like under a bench in a cold room) - it will drop all its leaves in a week of so and go dormant.

If you take the same tree and leave it on top of the bench, in just about any amount of light, more often than not, they will retain their leaves.

Chinese elms are opportunists - chancers, they'll grow while ever they can and not grow when they can't. They don't need dormancy afaics and are more than happy to grow year round if you let them but will just as easily accept dormancy when it's forced on them.

 

[It's Kev]

In oakland in 10B this is how my chinese elms act. Leaves stay on and remain green through out most of the winter, but then they fall off as new spring growth comes.

I’m trying my best to stick with the topic at hand with elm leaves not dropping in frozen conditions. Yet I’m getting distracted by my own elm pushing growth in less than ideal conditions.

 

[Adamski77]

D

I’m trying my best to stick with the topic at hand with elm leaves not dropping in frozen conditions. Yet I’m getting distracted by my own elm pushing growth in less than ideal conditions.

did you trim this branch recently... normally buds would get activated as a result...

 

[It's Kev]

D

did you trim this branch recently... normally buds would get activated as a result...

i did a trim/chop, and maybe the conditions also contributed, it was in a not so well lit warehouse type of area when i bought it, and then i put it in full sun.
I did it because i knew elm wouldnt die off or suffer, but i didnt expect the growth, i thought it would just kinda hang on till spring, so maybe it's the chop, maybe it's the light, maybe both

PS, how are your elm stumps, think you bought 3, right, but SH is much cooler, stick an update on your thread if you can. i bought this around the same time

 

[Adamski77]

i did a trim/chop, and maybe the conditions also contributed, it was in a not so well lit warehouse type of area when i bought it, and then i put it in full sun.
I did it because i knew elm wouldnt die off or suffer, but i didnt expect the growth, i thought it would just kinda hang on till spring, so maybe it's the chop, maybe it's the light, maybe both

PS, how are your elm stumps, think you bought 3, right, but SH is much cooler, stick an update on your thread if you can. i bought this around the same time

must be your cut that made the buds pop... I normally do last trimming in September... Shanghai still has at least 2 months of 20C after that so no issue for new growth to harden.

Regarding the stumps I did not touch them... just put them in combination of lava/kiryu plus small add of akadama and praying for them. Tricky part with doing it this time of the year is that I probably need to wait till spring to see if they made it through or not.